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The Captain, The Needles and the lighthouses Captain Barrie Robert Barrie 1774-1841 was born in Florida, USA on 5 May 1774. He was the son of Dr Robert Barrie, a Scottish surgeon’s mate. His father died when Barrie was an infant. His mother was Dorothea ‘Dolly’ Gardner, the sister of Admiral Lord Gardner. Barrie first saw active service aged 14 on board HMS Goliath in 1788. In 1795 Barrie was made Lieutenant and he joined HMS Queen in the Channel fleet. He was promoted to captain in 1802 and was appointed to HMS Pomone on 10 May 1806. In December 1806 Pomone was sailing from Portsmouth harbour as a terrible storm broke out. The men were on deck and in the rigging, trying to keep the ship stable in the rough conditions. Suddenly a freak bolt of lightning hit the ship. Barrie describes the accident in a letter to his step-brother: - "the Pomone was obliged to return to Spithead having sprung her Bowsprit off Portland - we were struck by lightning and twenty-two men were knocked down by it. However, they will all I trust recover except two Portsmouth Harbour, with the Haslar which are very doubtful cases - the weather Hospital in the distance. 1791 Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) was extremely bad and we had one of our best © Isle of Wight Council IWCMS.2002.171 men washed overboard". The members of Barrie’s crew were mostly new recruits, and this incident did not help him in the task of maintaining discipline on-board. When they got back into Spithead five of his men stole a boat; they reached the shore but were promptly captured. Barrie records the outcome Portsmouth Point with Gosport in of their desperate attempt, which resulted in a the distance. 1791 Court Martial: - "They are sentenced to 200 Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) © Isle of Wight Council IWCMS.2002.170 lashes each. The punishment will take place tomorrow." The Navy had no sympathy with deserters, especially in wartime. Serving in the Channel from 21 April to 7 June 1807 Barrie took or destroyed upwards of twenty enemy vessels. A very clean ship The Pomone had always been a very clean ship. Captain Barrie believed in everything being kept in the best condition. Whenever possible he had the men washing their clothes and hammocks. The bread room and the spirit room were cleaned whenever the ship was in Two brass uniform buttons with an port. anchor motif. IWCMS:20001.6.133 Barrie was also meticulous when it came to provisioning the Pomone. The food consisted of salt-beef, pork, peas, water,IWCMS:20001.6.133 beer and wine. He would take on supplies of fresh vegetables and he also kept animals on- board to provide fresh meat. On matters of welfare Barrie and his first lieutenant Gabriel both strove to support the crew. In port, when sailors' wives had to leave the ship, Barrie often asked his steward to give them a guinea each. When the rate of exchange in port was poor, he instructed crew to come to his cabin The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight. (Charles IV where he distributed a bagful of dollars for their 8 Reales from Lima 1803-8, use. Peru mint). IWCMS:20001.7.154 Barrie and Gabriel often granted generous shore leave to the crew, confident that this would not result in the usual desertions. Barrie and Canada The War of 1812 was a conflict fought between the United States and the United Kingdom, (June 1812 to February 1815). In October 1812 Barrie was commissioned Captain of the Dragon, taking a leading part in the blockade of Chesapeake Bay on the American east coast. For some months he was Commodore in charge of the British squadron, which during his command seized over 85 vessels. He was selected as Commander of a joint expedition to capture the settlement of Hampden (Maine, USA). Barrie destroyed the American frigate Adams and two other armed vessels. The British force also burned about 20 more vessels and took every town on the five mile stretch of river from Hampden to Bangor. Following the peace in 1815, Barrie was placed on half pay; he then married and went to live in France. In January 1819, after months of negotiations, he accepted the post of Commissioner of the dockyard at Kingston (Upper Canada), an appointment which made him the senior naval officer in the Canadas. He is remembered in Canada in a number of place-names, which include Barrie Island in Lake Huron, and the Ontario city of Barrie. Barrie died in June 1841 at Swarthdale near Lancaster and was buried at Ripley. A stained-glass window was dedicated to his memory in Ripley Church. The Needles The iconic Island landmark, 'The Needles' is a row of three distinctive stacks of chalk that rise about 30m (98 feet) out of the sea. They are to be found close to Alum Bay off the western end of the Isle of Wight. Originally the Needles consisted of four protruding rocks. The tallest rock was known as 'Lot's Wife'. It was tall and slender standing 36.5m (120 feet high). This rock collapsed in 1772 with a crash that was heard in Portsmouth. The Needles is a place of danger for shipping with over 20 named wrecks recorded in the vicinity. The Assurance, a 44-gun frigate sailing from Jamaica to Portsmouth, was lost in 1753, and HMS Pomone in 1811. In 1918, two ships SS Mechanican and SS Serrana were sunk in the vicinity by torpedoes from a German submarine. Perhaps the most famous wreck off The Needles is that of the Greek cargo ship, Varvassi, whose remains are still a danger to other vessels. Varvassi ran aground with a cargo of Algerian wine and tangerines on 5 January 1947: fortunately, all the crew, including the ship’s cat, were rescued. Lighthouse near the Needles. 1800 John Nixon 1740-1811. The lighthouses The 18th century lighthouse on the western tip of Highdown above the Needles. In 1781 numerous merchants and Watercolour © Carisbrooke Castle Museum Trust ship-owners petitioned Trinity House for a lighthouse near The Needles Rocks. They obtained a patent in January 1782 which directed that lights should be: "kept burning in the night season whereby seafaring men and mariners might take notice and avoid danger… and ships and other vessels of war might safely cruise during the night season in the British Channel". Negotiations must have failed because it was not until 1785 that Trinity House erected three lighthouses at The Needles, St. Catherine's Point and Hurst Point. The Needles tower was first lit on 29 September 1786. The tower was situated on top of the cliffs overhanging Scratchell's Bay. The light, 144m (472ft) above sea level was often obscured by sea mists and fogs and of limited use to mariners. The tower at Hurst, sited to the south west of Hurst Castle, was lit for the first time on 29 September 1786. However, shipping found that this light was obscured from certain directions, so in 1812 an additional and higher light was added to remedy this defect and to give a guiding line to vessels. The present Needles Lighthouse was built by Trinity House and first lit in 1859. Phone 01983 823433 Email - [email protected] Web - www.iwight.com/museums Isle of Wight Council Heritage Service .
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